I can’t help but smile at my father swearing. The Congressman rarely does it. But he’s a smart man and he put two and two together fast. All I had to do was say the state and Dad knew where I was going and who was responsible. My family is tight. None of them are going to like this. Especially with Jett and Jeremy already gone.
“You mother wants to know why, too!”
“There’s a guy running the place now who can’t keep his hands off the bottle. He’s been given chances but he’s not taking them. Death in his family. He’s a mess. I have to go run the place until…” I pause and stare off. “He didn’t say how long.”
My dad’s quiet. The shared silence makes this harder for me because I know he’s feeling what I am – he doesn’t want me that far away. Another son gone is not welcome news. Jeremy just left for Syria after finishing the intense training at Parris Island, South Carolina. And Jett is in a motorcycle club called The Cyphers that travels all over the country raising hell, a fact that kills Dad to his core. He feels Jett’s betrayed him by living outside the law and tries to pretend he doesn’t exist. What my older brother does with his days isn’t exactly bragging material in the White House.
I guess that’s another reason I like staying nearby – for my old man. And Jason and Justin are my best friends. Then there’s Mom. Uncle Don.
This is gonna suck for me.
“Let me talk to him,” he finally grumbles.
“Dad, don’t. I appreciate it, but I’m a grown man. I can handle what comes to me. I just wanted to tell you.”
He exhales long and low. “Jake… Never mind. Okay, I won’t talk to Don. When are you going?”
“A couple of weeks? A week? Shit, I don’t know.”
“Watch your mouth.”
“Sorry, Sir. Will you tell Mom the details? And make sure she doesn’t try to talk Don out of it. I don’t want her doing that.”
Another sigh. “Yes. I don’t have to tell you how she’ll feel about this. If we had an end date, it would be easier to take. Maybe I could just—”
“Dad! Don’t talk to him. I mean it. I’ll be angry if you do that. I take care of my business, and I’ll just stay there longer.”
He’s silent before he finally grumbles, “Fine,” then his voice picks up some levity as he adds, “I guess this means we need to have a family BBQ.”
Leaning back on an oh-shit grin, I answer, “Oh man, you had to throw that at me, didn’t you. Yeah, I guess I’d have to go.” As if I would miss it.
We both chuckle. We have the same laugh. After we say goodbye, my smile quickly fades. I know exactly how my mom will react, and she’ll tell all my brothers. I can just see her face right now as she’s listening to the news.
And Drew.
Flashes of her on my desk, clawing into my back and letting me kiss her like I’ve never kissed anyone, hit me. I take a deep breath and push her out of my mind. She needs to focus on her fresh start, she said. I agree with her. She wants more than I can give anyway. I wasn’t planning on falling for the woman so I think my leaving right now is perfect timing on that front.
But for the rest of the workday, she keeps sneaking back in. I keep seeing us fucking, or flashing images of my face in her quivering pussy.
I don’t want anything serious. I know that. The problem is I live with her. That’s about as serious as you can get.
When Uncle Don sees me heading home, he admits with a wary smile, “I expected to hear from Michael today.”
I chuckle and confess, “I told him not to call you.”
“Thank you for that.”
“It’s not his business,” I shrug, crossing my arms. “But he likes having control.”
“Runs in the family,” Uncle Don smirks.
“Yep. Listen, I don’t think I told you that Drew is my roommate. No, don’t look like that. I didn’t know she applied for a job here. She’s been applying everywhere since she moved here, and I had no way of knowing it was her coming in, and she didn’t know where I worked. Just that I worked in construction.”
Matching my stance, his eyes narrow, “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”
“I was really shocked to see her, I guess. And truth be told, we’d gotten into a fight this morning.”
He nods and blinks to the ground. “Is that going to be a problem?”
“Nope.”
“If you’re fighting at home, how’s it gonna be here?”
I breathe in through my teeth with a low hissing sound. “I think we smoothed things out today.” He nods like that’s good news, and I add, “And I’m leaving, so it won’t matter at all. She needs the job. You were right about how she’ll be eager to learn and do her best.” This time I’m not inwardly smiling or thinking about sex. I really do believe it when I tell him, “Drew will want to stay on and will do whatever she has to, to make that happen.”